Last night, Nine‘s 60 Minutes brought Aussies back to when the nation held its breath during a terrifying ordeal. A decade on from the Lindt Cafe siege, former NSW premier Mike Baird has shared that he battled with post-traumatic stress.
The Lindt Cafe siege left two hostages dead in December 2014.
“Everyone just wanted them out. And you know, for it not to happen, there’s a deep grief in that. And I think the impact is felt by everyone,” Baird said.
“To have that loss of Tori and Katrina, I’ll never lose that,” Baird added.
“It’s just impossible not to feel guilt”.
Baird admitted he sees his own mental struggle as a very small part of the impact the siege had on Australians, including the enormous pain felt by the families of cafe manager Tori Johnson and barrister Katrina Dawson.
“In my mind there’s a sense of, ‘I shouldn’t be impacted that way’,” Baird said.
In the aftermath of the siege, it was the former premier’s mother, a psychologist, who noticed her son’s symptoms of PTSD.
“I ignored it and there were other things to get on with and be busy about. But I should have listened,” Baird said.
Just over two years after the siege, Baird left politics.
Afterwards, he finally heeded his mother’s warnings and sought counselling to address the trauma.
Several hostages who survived the terrifying ordeal, including Louisa Hope, told 60 Minutes that the memories will never leave them.
Also on Nine, A Remarkable Place To Die raked in a Total TV National Reach of 1,364,000 and a Total TV National Average Audience of 464,000.
The series follows smart and determined homicide detective Anaís Mallory as she returns to her hometown of Queenstown, New Zealand, assuming the role of lead detective and hoping to unravel the truth behind the deaths of her father and sister.
Over on Seven, Motorway Patrol saw a Total TV National Reach of 981,000.
